In my lengthy, ever growing list of Swiss mountains and peaks to visit, Mt. Titlis at 3238 m has been ranked among the top 5.
It has a cute name, a 360 degree rotating gondola and Bollywood ties. At the foot of Mt. Titlis is Engelberg, reachable in just one hour by car or in two hours by a scenic train ride from Zurich. With envy, I have starred at all the tour buses heading to Engelberg for the past four years. So can you imagine how happy I was to be invited by the lovely Birrer family of Hotel Waldegg to experience their hospitality? I was flying like an angel...
Hotel Waldegg in Engelberg is rated four stars for several reasons:
Amazing views from all rooms
Gracefully sitting on a sunny hillside, Hotel Waldegg enjoys bird's-eye views of the village below. Engelberg is spread around the Kloster Engelberg, a Benedictine monastery with a more than 800 year old history.
Each and every room has a balcony with impressive views up to the very tip of Mt. Titlis reigning over the Urner Alps.
Alpine brine pool with panoramic window front
The breath-taking panorama views do not stop in the rooms: They extend all the way to the spa with its 34 degree warm Alpine saltwater pool! What a way to relax the feet after skiing or hiking...
Apart from the pool-side mountain vistas, the Waldegg's spa is also packed with a wide range of massage and cosmetic treatments. In front of me, there was a happy group of five girlfriends - probably a bachelorette party - selecting the best combination of treatments for one another.
A first class dining experience
Later that evening, I spotted that same group of girls again - now in glamorous dresses toasting to red wine at the Waldegg's in-house restaurant. I also enjoyed the extended gourmet dinner, sitting by the window and chasing after the beaming eyes of the snowcats floating in impossible angles high above in the darkness.
Our five course menu for the night was incredibly delicious! First off, we were served a smoked trout filet on beed carpaccio, topped with horseradish mousse.
The following course was a fine poultry terrine with cranberry mousse and garden lettuce.
The main course consisted of broiled chicken breast, sautéd spinach and a trio of hearty grit patties.
And as for the dessert buffet, we will keep that as a surprise for when you visit Hotel Waldegg!
After sleeping in on Sunday morning, the special house blend coffee at breakfast finally woke us up! The breakfast buffet provided everything you could ask for, including a variety of fresh breads and artfully assembled fruits.
One piece of advice: Warm options such as eggs are available as well, but you will need to ask for them.
It was a nice token of appreciation that the staff sent us off with a bag of that same house-blend coffee from breakfast! Next stop: Snowshoeing in Brunni, a ski resort on the sunny side of Engelberg. The local ski bus stops outside the hotel, and it will get you to the gondola station.
More Information
- Engelberg Tourism
- Snowshoe Trails in Brunni
(Disclaimer: Hotel Waldegg has generously provided us with a complementary night incl. dinner for this review; spa photograph copyright by Hotel Waldegg.)
Hotel Waldegg
Schwandstrasse 91
6390 Engelberg
Phone: +41 41 639 69 00
[…] the Urner Alps of Switzerland. We took a train from Interlaken to Hergiswil and then Hergiswil to Engelberg. Engelberg is the lower part of Mt. […]